Comments on: ARA: Birthday party theme ideas for 1-year-oldhttp://blog.timesunion.com/parenting/14518/ara-birthday-party-theme-ideas-for-1-year-old/
A place for parents to talk about life's most challenging jobWed, 16 Nov 2016 14:01:12 +0000hourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.1By: Lisa Colegrovehttp://blog.timesunion.com/parenting/14518/ara-birthday-party-theme-ideas-for-1-year-old/#comment-76345
Mon, 30 Apr 2012 05:16:08 +0000http://blog.timesunion.com/parenting/?p=14518#comment-76345for our granddaughter’s first birthday, we had it outside in the backyard and bought 6 big colored balls at Walmart, they cost $2.50 each, and we all had fun running and kicking the balls. Her birthday was in May and in Texas its great weather. It wouldn’t work if the birthday was in January in upstate NY though
]]>By: Ronhttp://blog.timesunion.com/parenting/14518/ara-birthday-party-theme-ideas-for-1-year-old/#comment-40056
Tue, 23 Aug 2011 20:29:38 +0000http://blog.timesunion.com/parenting/?p=14518#comment-40056He’s 1. He won’t remember a thing. On our kids’ first birthdays we more or less had a party for ourselves, celebrating that we made it a year.
]]>By: Joshhttp://blog.timesunion.com/parenting/14518/ara-birthday-party-theme-ideas-for-1-year-old/#comment-40052
Tue, 23 Aug 2011 18:54:22 +0000http://blog.timesunion.com/parenting/?p=14518#comment-40052I half-agree with Tree. The 1-year-old will not really have much appreciation for more than a balloon or a big empty box. But I also agree with those who want to celebrate the milestone. So I think the theme should be something that appeals to YOU, not necessarily to the kid. It doesn’t even have to be a “kid theme” like cute animals and pretty bows. It can be, for instance, a movie that you’re looking forward to sharing with your son once he’s older. It could be a book or a holiday near his birthday or a Tacky Party or whatever you want. You’ll have fun, he’ll have fun.
]]>By: Hopefulhttp://blog.timesunion.com/parenting/14518/ara-birthday-party-theme-ideas-for-1-year-old/#comment-39988
Tue, 23 Aug 2011 12:15:07 +0000http://blog.timesunion.com/parenting/?p=14518#comment-39988Agreeing more with Tree here. A theme for a 1 year old? Cake and ice cream is all you need.
]]>By: melissahttp://blog.timesunion.com/parenting/14518/ara-birthday-party-theme-ideas-for-1-year-old/#comment-39909
Tue, 23 Aug 2011 02:43:18 +0000http://blog.timesunion.com/parenting/?p=14518#comment-39909I was overwhelmed by the idea and party city freaked me out. But I love Papel Picado (Mexican paper flags) and tracked some down, and built on those colors. Lots of greens and reds and oranges (we aren’t pastel people). Even big paper lanterns, that the boys loved staring at.

We also made little hanging pictures of the boys’ first year with yarn and paper clips.

Then we got the cakes and smashcakes to match (I didn’t have a proper wedding cake, so I wanted to have some fun!) from Coccadotts. Perfect.

]]>By: happy momhttp://blog.timesunion.com/parenting/14518/ara-birthday-party-theme-ideas-for-1-year-old/#comment-39902
Tue, 23 Aug 2011 00:41:53 +0000http://blog.timesunion.com/parenting/?p=14518#comment-39902We did rubber duckies for the first year – I didn’t want to go characters either- and he used all the ducks in his tubby and plain yellow and blue plates mixed with a few ducky plates. It was fun and the blue plates worked for Nemo the second year (he was all about Nemo- it had to be done) =)
Congratulations!
]]>By: MBAMomhttp://blog.timesunion.com/parenting/14518/ara-birthday-party-theme-ideas-for-1-year-old/#comment-39873
Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:42:46 +0000http://blog.timesunion.com/parenting/?p=14518#comment-39873When my son turned 1, yes, we wanted to celebrate but also didn’t see the need to go overboard, especially considering the age (1) plus it was close family and nanny. So, I decided to key off something my son really enjoyed at the time. Of course, it happened to be a cartoon character (Elmo) but all I did was buy a small Elmo party decoration kit at Party City (it had a couple of wall decorations plus a hat and bib for the birthday boy) and matching cake plates. Elmo turned out to be one of his first words so I am really glad I chose that theme. We had a nice dinner for the adults (wine included!) and a nice cake from the bakery. That was pretty much it!
]]>By: Judyhttp://blog.timesunion.com/parenting/14518/ara-birthday-party-theme-ideas-for-1-year-old/#comment-39869
Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:09:08 +0000http://blog.timesunion.com/parenting/?p=14518#comment-39869For my daughter’s first birthday, I took her to a party store to look at various themes. She reacted most to the “Smiley Face” plates, and so that was the theme.
]]>By: Kellyhttp://blog.timesunion.com/parenting/14518/ara-birthday-party-theme-ideas-for-1-year-old/#comment-39862
Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:57:34 +0000http://blog.timesunion.com/parenting/?p=14518#comment-39862We used a monkey theme, as that was his nickname at the time… you couldn’t keep that kid from climbing! We ended up renting a pavilion at a local state park that had swimming and a playground. I got great themed invites and thank you cards from Vistaprint and put together monkey themed goodie bags with things from Oriental Trading. We got our cake from Sam’s club and I added my own decorations and embellishments. I also ordered a custom t-shirt from Cafe Press, and I have heard great things about Etsy too. This year we did a construction theme, as that is his toy of choice. I googled “construction theme birthday” and searched though all the images that came up… I got a ton of ideas that way.

Have fun and do what you think is important. Like Reader said above, this party is as much for you and it is your child. Do what you think will be fun and then have fun with it. Take the time to enjoy this wonderful day. And take TONS of pictures!

]]>By: maggiehttp://blog.timesunion.com/parenting/14518/ara-birthday-party-theme-ideas-for-1-year-old/#comment-39859
Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:05:39 +0000http://blog.timesunion.com/parenting/?p=14518#comment-39859Reader – depending on the age of the family in attendance, how about a wine and cheese theme…
Another option, if you have a pup tent, is to set up the tent so the little one can get in an out, and have a “camping” theme. A tent can be set up indoors if you have enough room.
Or you can hang a progression of favorite outfits from newborn to today so everyone can see how much your little one has grown.

Personally, I’m with Tree – I never bother with the decorations. They do nothing for me, and just take time for set-up and clean-up that I would rather spend doing other things, but if they mean a lot to you, then go for it. Just put everything up out of “grab and chew” range.